Hand In Hand
by hebrewhernia
Summary: Ummm.....sap, sap, sap. Enough said. Rather plotless, my first fic. I'll add more if you want. Review and tell me. Ummm.....I suck at summaries so just read the darn thing.


HAND IN HAND   
  
  
~Author's Note~  
This is my first In a Heartbeat fic. I'm obsessed with Tyler/Val romances 3 :-)  
It's rather pointless and plotless, but it has lots of sappiness. I promise. Wait it might have a point, and maybe even (gasp!) a plot. I'll get back to you on that. I have absolutely no clue where I'm going with this.  
Disclaimer:   
  
I don't own the characters,  
Or a single lyric  
So don't sue, just review,  
Now on with the fic.  
It took like a year,  
But it's finally hear.  
My first IAHB fic,  
No flames 'cause they make me sick.  
**************************************************************************************  
It was a warm summer Saturday morning and Val Lanier was in her room. Her Lifehouse CD was playing loudly and she was singing along noisily as she cleaned her far-from-perfect-looking room. Although the reast of her life was perfectly organized, she never found the time to keep her room clean. So this Saturday morning she decided to make the time.   
  
Her parents were at work, and Brooke was probably at the EMT station doing paperwork. And Val was cleaning her room.   
  
"...all I want, you're all I need, you're everything, everything, and how can I.." Val sang along as she put books back on the bookshelf.   
  
The doorbell rang, loud and insistent, through the music with the tracks mixed up from one of the CD player's functions, distracting Val from cleaning. She paused the music in the middle of the song, and ran down the stairs. She opened the door and was surprised to see Tyler Connell.   
  
All their friends knew that Val liked Tyler, except Tyler. And all their friends knew that Tyler liked Val, except Val. And all their friends thought that it was hilarious that they couldn't quite work up the nerve to go on a date.   
  
"Hey, Tyler. What's up?" Val asked.   
  
"Not much. I was just wondering if you wanted to, you know, take a walk or something." He said, sort of stuttering over his words. Val noticed, and wondered if the stuttering was a bad thing or a good thing.   
  
"Oh, I have to clean my room. That's actually what I'm in the middle of doing. It's a total mess." She said, rather regretfully.   
  
"Do you want my help?" Tyler asked. For a fleeting moment, he had an image of her saying, 'My parent's aren't home, so, sure!'   
  
"Sure," Val said. She led the way up to her room and said, "Hold on." She looked around to make sure nothing embarassing was lying around. "Come in," she said, after sticking her head back out into the hallway.   
  
She un-paused the music and they cleaned in silence for the first 5 minutes, except Tyler asking Val where this or that or the other thing went.   
  
Then on her desk Tyler saw...the box. He said, "Hey, Val. Where's this-" He stopped suddenly, because he saw what was in...the box...The box was a box full of envelopes, that presumedly contained letters. And judging by the fact that they said "Tyler" on them in Val's neat handwriting with little hearts all over them.  
  
"What? Where's what what?" Val asked. Then she turned around. But Tyler had already opened the top letter, dated yesterday, and begun reading it.   
  
It read:  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Dear Tyler,  
  
I don't know how to say this. I don't know how to begin. I've loved you since, oh, I don't know, a long time! And this is the exact same letter I've written you, a thousand different ways, one each day, and eventually I'll write one I think is okay, and send it to you,but this one isn't it.   
  
I love everything about you. In my mind, you're perfect. Athletic, funny, smart, and you're so...good-looking. When you work as an EMT with me, you always can remain calm. You comfort people wonderfully- at least, you can comfort me.   
  
A thousand letters and a thousand ways to say this, but the most simple is the most effective: I love you.  
  
Love,  
Val   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  
And as he read, Val stood there, bit her fingernails, continued putting books on the shelves, thought a million things. A million questions were asked in her mind, pushed aside by the next, and asked again 5 seconds later.   
  
As he read, a smile crept onto his face. Just a small one. It wasn't a "ha-ha-this-is-pathetic" smile. It was a "oh-good-she-likes-me-too-yay!" smile. An "oh-this-is-so-sweet" smile.   
  
'Does he like me too? Does he think they're pathetic? Is he laughing at them? Is he laughing at me? Does he hate me? Does he think I'm stupid? Or does he like me too? Does he think they're pathetic?' Val's mind asked, panicking.   
  
Tyler moved on to the next letter under the first one, Val bit a different fingernail, Tyler kept smiling, Val kept worrying. She made up an excuse, something about laundry, and left the stifling room to try to calm down, although Tyler probably didn't hear.   
  
She came back in. He looked up, surprised, like he didn't know that she left. 'And that stupid smile is still on his face!' Val thought.   
  
"Um, Val, about those notes-" Tyler started, but was cut off.   
  
"Oh those! I-um-" Val's mind raced for an excuse. "Those are from, like, years ago!" Even she knew that she was a pathetic liar.  
  
"Then why are they dated yesterday?" Tyler asked mischieviously.  
  
"Umm...it was 8th grade! I had bad handwriting! That's actually today's date but several years ago! Ha-ha!" Val's laugh sounded totally fake.   
  
"Then why does your handwriting look exactly the same as on that note you passed me in English yesterday?" Tyler asked.  
  
"Darned note!' Val thought, very G-ratedly.  
  
"Umm...okay you got me. I'm madly hopelessy totally completely head over heels in love with you." Val said in one huge breath...at least in Tyler's fantasy.  
  
What she really said was nothing. Instead, Tyler said, "I am so happy I got to read those...see..."   
  
The music played. They had totally forgotten about it, but the lyrics of the song matched the mood for both of them, especially Tyler. "Desperate for changing, starving for truth, I'm closer to where I started, chasing after you, I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I've held onto. I'm standing here until you make me move, just hanging by a moment here with you..."   
  
Tyler and Val listened and contemplated, interrupted by the music and the thoughts it provoked.   
  
They didn't know that the other liked them, but they sure wanted to know. Tyler was about to let it all go, and tell her his feelings, and accidentally, Val already had.   
  
"Val,Ilikeyoutoo," Tyler spit out incoherently in one breath. But apparently Val understood, because the next sound in the room, other than the last remaining chords of "Hanging by a Moment," was Val's huge...noise. There wasn't any other way to describe it. It was a sigh of relief and happiness uttered through a grin and muffled by Tyler leaning in and kissing her.   
  
Then, the next song came on, "Breathing," and then Val and Tyler were dancing, and Val was floating, and they danced, close together, reveling in their newfound relationship, for the full four minutes. Then Val said, after the song was over, "Let's take a walk." Tyler nodded. Val turned off the stereo and the lights, scribbled a note to her family in case they came back, and left with Tyler.   
  
They left hand in hand.   
**************************************************************************************  
  
Author's Note: Okay, review. Tell me, did it suck? Do you like it? Will I make a good addition to the IaHB section of FF.net?  
  
I normally write Animorphs romance, so I may not be all that good. Just review!  
  
PS Hi Ivy Leaves!   
  
  



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